Chad Ford Mock Draft 3.0: Raptors select Jan Vesely

Analysis: I'm still trying to get the pulse of what's happening in Toronto. Now that Bryan Colangelo has his extension, he can afford to take more risks. The question is … who does he gamble on? Last week we had Valanciunas here. He's still in the mix, but I've been told that Vesely is even higher on his list.

A terrific athlete, Vesely is ready to play right now and adds great size to Toronto's front line. Kemba Walker is also a legit option here and if for some reason Brandon Knight falls, he won't slip past the Raptors.

I personally have a hard time believing the Raptors would draft a PF at #5, given the fact they have Davis, Amir and potentially Bargnani filling that position.

I think it does become a bit more of a crapshoot and somewhat of drafting for positional needs after the top-4 of Irving/Williams/Kanter/Knight for the Raptors, based on what I've read on multiple sites.

Assuming their top-4 choices are gone and they still do draft @ #5, I'd like to see the Raps attempt to address the SF spot with Leonard, rather than draft a PF/iffy C (Vesely, Valanciunas, Biyombo) or an iffy PG (Walker). At that point, however, my preference would be to trade up to get one of their top-4 picks, trade the pick as part of a package for a good young veteran (ie: Gay, Mayo, etc...), or trade the pick for a rotation player & a lower pick, rather than take a big gamble with the #5 pick.

On the other hand, it's tough to ignore the fact that opposing coaches in Europe clearly game-plan against him, trying to create situations where they can isolate their best wing player against him with space to operate. In these situations, Vesely tends to struggle. He has difficulty getting in a low stance at his size and just doesn't have the lateral quickness to stay in front of the extremely quick and aggressive shot-creators he often finds at the small forward position.

I personally have a hard time believing the Raptors would draft a PF at #5, given the fact they have Davis, Amir and potentially Bargnani filling that position.

I think it does become a bit more of a crapshoot and somewhat of drafting for positional needs after the top-4 of Irving/Williams/Kanter/Knight for the Raptors, based on what I've read on multiple sites.

Assuming their top-4 choices are gone and they still do draft @ #5, I'd like to see the Raps attempt to address the SF spot with Leonard, rather than draft a PF/iffy C (Vesely, Valanciunas, Biyombo) or an iffy PG (Walker). At that point, however, my preference would be to either trade up to get one of their top-4 picks, trade the pick as part of a package for a good young veteran (ie: Gay, Mayo, etc...), or trade the pick for a rotation player & a lower pick, rather than take a big gamble with the #5 pick.

Not that i'm happy about this mock draft but the dude can play the 3 for sure.

Not that i'm happy about this mock draft but the dude can play the 3 for sure.

6'11 playing SF? I would argue strongly against that, especially if you expect him to keep up defensively against the better SF in the league. Turkoglu plays SF too, but that doesn't mean he does it well. If I was going to play a 7' Euro at SF, I'd just move Bargnani over to SF and draft a different player. IMO, I highly doubt he'll be a SF in the NBA and don't want to take that kind of risk with the #5 spot.

6'11 playing SF? I would argue strongly against that, especially if you expect him to keep up defensively against the better SF in the league. Turkoglu plays SF too, but that doesn't mean he does it well. If I was going to play a 7' Euro at SF, I'd just move Bargnani over to SF and draft a different player. IMO, I highly doubt he'll be a SF in the NBA and don't want to take that kind of risk with the #5 spot.

You've never seen this guy play then.
The ONLY position he is going to play in the NBA is the SF. Maybe a little bit of PF, but he's so skinny, that he wouldn't even be able to make a dent against some of those guys.

Guys, don't worry about Chad Ford on this one. Ford is wrong often in his yearly predictions. I am now certain the Raptors can do better than Vesely at #5. There is a group of more talented players emerging. Based on what Colangelo said in basically publically pleading for his job, Vesely probably isn't the pick.

Looking at what Colangelo has done in the past couple years I think Leonard makes more sense if he's going to go for a wing.

all i've heard about Vesely is his dunking ability but can someone tell me about how he is on the defensive end and i read that his handles are horrible is that true???? i don't hate vesely but i don't see what makes him a better prospect that valanciunas

all i've heard about Vesely is his dunking ability but can someone tell me about how he is on the defensive end and i read that his handles are horrible is that true???? i don't hate vesely but i don't see what makes him a better prospect that valanciunas

Defense is the part of Vesely's game that is most likely to spark debate when it comes to his future. On one hand, you cannot ignore the terrific physical tools Vesely enjoys – his excellent size, length and athleticism allow him to get his team plenty of extra possessions in the form of steals and blocks. He's also an intense competitor who's always willing to stick his nose in to get the job done, which definitely helps.

On the other hand, it's tough to ignore the fact that opposing coaches in Europe clearly game-plan against him, trying to create situations where they can isolate their best wing player against him with space to operate. In these situations, Vesely tends to struggle. He has difficulty getting in a low stance at his size and just doesn't have the lateral quickness to stay in front of the extremely quick and aggressive shot-creators he often finds at the small forward position.

To his credit, Vesely acknowledges that this is an issue for him. "Of course," he told us. "they are smaller than me, they are faster so I have to work on my aggressiveness, try to get faster and play better defense."

How well Vesely is able to adapt in this area will play a crucial role in the type of NBA career he's able to carve out for himself.

Im going to say it now ... whether or not the Raps pick Vesely .... he is going to be on sports center very often .... If we're going to go for any European, aside from maybe Kanter, Id go with Vesely ...

I think in an interview he said he played PF ... but then an opening in the starting line up opened up at the SF ... so the coach put him in there ... and he has been playing there ever since ...

Someone compared him as the European Durant ... after watching his highlights ... I can definitely see the comparison based on athleticism and size ...

I like his energy ... and he brings an "edge" that I haven't seen anyone in Raps uniform have in a long time ...

Euro Durant??? Please. How's his 3pt. shot to start with? He is not a shooter from what I can read or see. If anything he might be a compared to a Kirilenko but..... I think he is a reach unless he has improved his shot.